Psychology Chapter on Individual Differences

Study Notes

The more or less enduring psychological characteristics that differentiate one person from another, contributing to individual identity.

Early studies of human abilities began in the late 19th century.
Francis Galton, considered the father of psychological testing and individual differences, coined the term "mental test" and invented the first psychological test methods to measure intelligence and ability.
Alfred Binet's early work on human abilities was similar to Galton's. Binet was commissioned by the French government to identify mentally deficient children in French schools.

An abstract concept encompassing the ability to think, learn from experience, solve problems, and adapt to new situations.
David Wechsler, in 1939, defined intelligence as the overall capacity of an individual to act purposefully, think rationally, and interact effectively with their environment.
Intelligence encompasses:
- Understanding
- Learning
- Acting purposefully
- Thinking rationally/abstractly
- Adjusting
Intelligence influences our perceptions and judgments of others, as well as our self-awareness.

The term "intelligence quotient" (IQ) was coined by William Stern in the early 20th century.
Alfred Binet developed the first intelligence tests to help identify schoolchildren requiring extra academic assistance.
Binet introduced the concept of mental age, representing the set of abilities children at a specific age possess.

The IQ is the ratio between mental age and chronological age.
Mental Age: The age level at which a child demonstrates capabilities, measured through intelligence tests.
Chronological Age: The time elapsed since birth.
IQ formula: IQ = MA / CA x 100
Example: A 12-year-old child performing better than other children their age on an intelligence test would score higher and be considered a bright child.

Louis L. Thurstone focused on seven primary mental abilities rather than a single general intelligence.
These abilities include:
- Associative memory: Remembering and recalling information.
- Numerical ability: Solving mathematical problems.
- Perceptual speed: Recognizing differences and similarities among objects.
- Reasoning: Finding rules or patterns.
- Spatial visualization: Visualizing relationships.
- Verbal comprehension: Defining and understanding words.
- Word fluency: Generating words rapidly.

Thorndike categorized three types of intelligence:
- Social intelligence: Understanding and managing relationships with other people.
- Concrete intelligence: More commonly known as mechanical intelligence, relating to concrete materials.
- Abstract intelligence: Understanding and managing abstract concepts like ideas, symbols, and principles.

Proposed by Howard Gardner.
Stresses that intelligence is not a single, general ability but rather a collection of different kinds of intelligence.
Gardner identified seven intelligences initially, adding an eighth later.

Linguistic: Ability to analyze information and create products involving oral and written language.
Logical-Mathematical: Ability to develop equations, proofs, solve abstract problems, and make calculations.
Spatial: Ability to recognize and manipulate large-scale and fine-grained spatial images.
Musical: Ability to produce, remember, and derive meaning from diverse sound patterns.
Naturalist: Ability to recognize and differentiate among various types of plants, animals, and weather formations.
Bodily-Kinesthetic: Ability to use one's own body to create products or solve problems.
Interpersonal: Ability to recognize and comprehend the moods, desires, motivations, and intentions of others.
Intrapersonal: Ability to recognize and understand one's own moods, desires, motivations, and intentions.